Just Say No Way
Just Say No Way is episode twenty-one of season three on Full House. It originally aired on March 30, 1990. Opening Teaser Michelle enters the living room from the kitchen, with a sandwich for Joey. What he doesn't know is that it contains bananas, pickles, , and bubble gum; the last of which can be noticed as Joey blows a bubble. Michelle tells him, "Don't play with your food", to which he replies with one of her recurring phrases, "Aw, nuts!" Synopsis D.J. and Kimmy Gibbler organize the Spring Backwards Dance at school. For this dance, the girls must ask the boys to the dance, and that is the "backwards" part of the dance. D.J. is too nervous to ask Kevin Gwynn, as she doesn't have his phone number. Stephanie suggests she just hit the speed dial button with the heart drawn around it. She then hits said button and hands the phone to D.J., who then goes into a phone operator's voice saying, "This is the phone company. Your phone works fine. Goodbye." and hangs up. This causes younger sister to go around clucking like a chicken, thinking older sister is such for not calling Kevin in the first place, and older sister just looks on in disgust. The clucking also causes Kimmy to laugh at her, and D.J. calls her best friend out for it. So Stephanie actually does call Kevin for her, which sets off a chase on D.J.'s bed; but after Stephanie says that Kevin's going to go to the dance with her, she feels thankful, and hugs Stephanie. After weeks of planning and organizing the dance, D.J. is disappointed to learn that the scheduled band, Dog Face, will not be able to make it to the dance (as Kimmy had told her they broke up), so she convinces Jesse to lend his musical talents for the evening. At the dance, Kevin seems uncomfortable, and Jesse meets the questionable backup band that D.J. has arranged for him to perform with—which happens to be the marching band from the local high school. Later, D.J. sees Kevin and two other boys, Sam and Paul, drinking beer in the hallway. She takes a beer can away from Paul in an effort to stop them; unfortunately, that is when Jesse enters the hallway and sees her holding the beer can. As a result, he goes crazy and wrongfully accuses her of drinking. Back home, Danny and Joey take Jesse’s side and refuse to believe D.J. when she tries to tell them she was not drinking and had been trying to stop Kevin, Sam, and Paul from drinking, and even Joey reminds her that everyone make mistakes sometimes, even kids (and "young women" like her). This causes D.J. to storm off to her and Stephanie's room in tears. But Stephanie believes her, because she looked Stephanie right in the eyes while telling her what happened; she also reminds D.J. that she usually looks at the top of Stephanie’s head when she is not telling the truth, and above all, she is Stephanie's big sister, which inspires Stephanie to look up to her. Downstairs in the kitchen, the guys talk about not just what happened at the dance, but what happened in the ensuing argument when Jesse and D.J. came home. Danny is just as shocked as Jesse and Joey are, maybe even more so than both are combined, and can't believe that it could happen to such a good 13-year-old kid like his oldest daughter; however, Joey assures him that it could happen to any kid, regardless of their age and maturity level, and that there is a lot of pressure on them to try drinking, whether it be from their peers or pop culture. Jesse thinks that they should go lay down the law and that there should be absolutely no drinking period, but Danny stops his brother-in-law and says that they should not jump to conclusions, and that it is not as easy as just plain punishing her; rather, they should teach her right from wrong in cases such as this. But before they can do anything, and before the argument can escalate and cause tensions to rise, Stephanie comes downstairs and tells them that D.J.'s tears were not "I'm in trouble" tears, but rather, "I really didn't do it" tears. D.J. feels that she has no choice but to sneak back to the school in order to prove her innocence, and that, with her very own eyes, she saw that Kevin, Sam, and Paul were drinking beer, so Kimmy's mom takes her there. While Joey stays behind to take care of Stephanie, Jesse and Danny follow D.J., and Kevin apologizes to her, and then tells Jesse and Danny the truth, which is exactly what D.J. had told them; in addition, Kimmy, who was still at the dance when the incident occurred and was helping clean up as her best friend arrived, tells D.J. that Kevin, Sam, and Paul all got suspended for their getting caught drinking. This is a huge relief to D.J., who says that all three of them deserve it because while they got in trouble for drinking, they got her in trouble because she was holding the beer can while trying to stop them in the first place. Jesse and Danny feel foolish for doubting D.J. the way they did when they jumped to conclusions, and Jesse apologizes to D.J. for not believing her in the first place. He sits down with her on the stage and explains to her why he went crazy—because he has seen alcoholism ruin people’s lives before, whether it be through celebrities or rock stars, and he does not want that to happen to D.J. He even adds that what she endured tonight is just one of many tough decisions she will have to face for the rest of her life, from drinking to drugs. He wishes she could grow up in a world where she can enjoy being a kid, but unfortunately, as he tells her, that's not the way it works, and as a "young woman", she has to make those tough decisions on her own sometimes. He hopes that she will continue to use the same good judgment she used tonight, because he does not want to see her get hurt—or worse—and he loves her too much for anything like that to happen, and she loves him too. In addition, when Kevin asks D.J. if it is okay to call her again, she accepts, under the condition that "the old Kevin calls". He even explains that he drank because he thought he would have more fun with her, but she tells him that she didn't have fun with "the new Kevin". When all is said and done, and after all that D.J. has endured tonight, she, Jesse, and Danny all leave the school and head home. Meanwhile, Joey has bought Michelle a tape of children’s songs by a singer named , and Stephanie wishes Joey had not bought the tape when Michelle becomes obsessed with the song "Baby Beluga." However, Michelle has played that song so much that she eventually wears out the tape—which gives Stephanie and Joey some relief (though Stephanie herself is trying to get the song out of her head). Quotes Jesse: This is just great. I got the "Baby Beluga" dancers and I'm drinking moo juice. When did my life become a G-rated movie? ---- guys are in the living room, just as Stephanie bursts in. Stephanie: Somebody do something! It's been one song a week of "Baby Beluga"! I'm going bananas! Michelle comes into the room with the tape player and mic, singing. Joey: Michelle, why don't we fast-forward this thing to another song? Michelle: trying to keep the tape player away from him No. Joey: Well, Baby Beluga's tired. He needs a nap. Michelle: Don't make me cry. ---- and Jesse have just gotten home from the dance and are arguing about who will talk to Danny first when Danny and Joey come in Danny: Whoa, whoa, whoa – what’s going on here? D.J.: I was not drinking beer! Danny: You were not drinking what? Jesse: Danny, I saw the whole thing – she had a beer in her hand, she was waving it around, she was talkin’ about partyin’. D.J.: The other kids were drinking. I was telling them how stupid they looked! Joey: Hey, Deej, everybody makes mistakes. And we know how hard it is when the other kids are drinking, and they offer you a drink– D.J.: I know drinking is wrong! We already had this talk. That’s why I didn’t do it. I’m telling you the truth! Jesse: Oh, right. Like you were telling us the truth about your homework? And you weren’t exactly honest about this marching backup band tonight. D.J.: That was totally different! to Danny You believe me, don’t you, Dad? Danny: I’d like to, but you do smell like beer. D.J.: Someone spilled it on me, really! Danny: D.J., go to your room. I’m gonna talk to Jesse, and then I’ll come up and talk to you. D.J.: This is so unfair! and walks a few steps away, but stops and turns to Danny, Jesse and Joey How could you take his side instead of believing your own daughter? back around and heads over to the staircase ---- D.J. and Stephanie's room... Stephanie: singing Baby Beluga, Baby Belu- Oh, no. slapping her head Get out, get out, get out! D.J.: the room, crying How could they do this? I was telling the truth! I don't deserve to be treated this way; I didn't do anything! Stephanie: What didn't you do? D.J.: It doesn't matter. Nobody believes me anyway – not Jesse, not Joey, not even Dad. sobs Stephanie: I believe you, D.J.. D.J.: You do? Stephanie: Of course I do. You're my big sister. And besides that, you were looking right in my eyes. When you lie, you look at the top of my head. D.J: Thanks, Steph. hug. I gotta find a way for them to believe me... ---- [Inside, D.J. is sitting on the stage, when Jesse enters, ready to have a "little chat/talk" with his oldest niece for once.] Jesse: Hi. D.J.: Oh, great. I'm in even more trouble. gets up. Look, I came down here to find Kevin so that-- Jesse: I just talked to Kevin outside. D.J.: You did? Jesse: Yeah. walks over to his oldest niece. He told me what really happened. I owe you a big apology. D.J.: You really hurt my feelings. Jesse: I'm sorry for not believing you, pal. D.J.: I guess it did look kinda bad, and I did bend the truth a couple times this week . Jesse: D.J., I want you to know why I lost my temper tonight. It just--it made me crazy thinking of my little niece out there starting to drink. I mean, this isn't fun and games here. You know, I've seen it happen to my friends. They think they have it under control, and before they know it, they've messed up their whole lives. That's why I'm proud of you for making the right decisions tonight. D.J.: It's not that hard to say "No". Those kids were acting like idiots. and Jesse sit down on the stage. Jesse: Well, you made it through tonight. But the sad truth is, you're going to be faced with a lot of tough decisions in your life – and not just about drinking either, but about drugs and about sex, and who knows what. I just wish you could grow up in a world where you could just enjoy being a kid. But I'm sorry, pal; that's not the way it is. So, I hope that you'll use the same good judgment that you used tonight because I never want to see you get hurt. I love you so much. D.J.: I love you too, Uncle Jesse. Thank you. hug. Jesse: Alright. Let's go home, huh? Trivia *The episode title comes from Nancy Reagan's anti-drug campaign slogan " " *Other episodes to deal with the topic of peer pressure are: **"Back to School Blues", where D.J. had to deal with peer pressure in general, and not just any one particular thing about it **"I'm Not D.J." (season 6), where Stephanie learns about ear piercing **"Fast Friends" (season 7), where Stephanie learns about smoking Category:Episodes Category:Season 3